Improvement in lanterns



T0 @ZZ whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' HENRY A. FOX, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN LANTERNS.

Spccitication'orming part of Letters Patent No. 43,303, dated June 728,1864.

Be it known that I, HENRY A. FOX, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lanterns; and l do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and cXact descriptionthereof, ref-- erence being had to the accompanying drawin gs, makingpart ot' this-specication.

It is believed that all oil-burning lanterns co nmonly used on board ofsteamboats, railro itl-cars, and other vehicles are liable to spilltheir contents, a fact made evident by the gr ase-stained surroundingswhich mark the place where the lantern swings. Such spillage proceedsfrom Various causes inseparable from the use of the common lantern, andn1 1y arise from violent agitation, or an excess ot oil or of wick, orfrom an insufficient-lycl sed cap or otherwise. The evil is ofcoursegreatly aggravated when such lanterns are carried to and fro and fromend to end of a cr nvded train.

My invention relates to, tirst, a provision fo' preventing the escape orspillage of oil iran a lantern; secondly, an improved device for theready attachment and detachment. of thi reservoir. 4

Figure lis an axial section of a lantern emlolying my invention. Fig. 2is a perspective view of the base and rim detached. Fin'. 3 shows mybase adapted to another form of catch.

My lantern-base is composed of a disk and one annrulus. These pieces,having been spun or struck up so as to assume, respectively, the dishingforms A and B, are soldered or otherwise united to each other, andbecome a cup or receptacle, AB, which serves to catch all of the oilwhich spills or runs over from the lamp, and whose inturned flange Bserves to securely retain such oil, however carelessly the lantern maybe handled.

The curb B may, in addition to its above use, he made available as partof the device for securing therhase to the shade or globe C.

The foot'or lower rim, D, of the shade has attached to its inner sidetwo spring-catches, E E', which,.prot`ruding through apertures d in saidrim, can be caused to snap or engage underthe curb B by simply pressingdownward on the shade. The free extremities of the springs E E take theform ot lips ce', which, being pressed to ward each other by the thumband linger of the operator, enable the separation of the shade from thebase.

The reservoir F may be secured to the base by means of a screwattachment G, so as to enable the ready removal of the reservoirwhenever it may be desired to clean ont the receptacle A B, or toreplace an empty lamp with a full one or one of another kind.

It will be seen that my base is both stronger and of simplerconstruction than those of the customary form which possess acylindrical rim for attachment of the shade.

I have selected to illustrate my invention the form preferred andsuccessfully manufactured by me, but vI do not propose to restrict theimprovement to the above precise combination, my invention beingmanifestly susceptible of various modifications without impairing itsessential feature of preventing spillage, as, for example, myoil-receptacle A B maybe used in connection with a form otl catch suchas represented in Fig. 3.

I claim herein as new and of my invention- 1. The provision in a lanternof the cup formed or curbed base A B, adapted to catch and retain thewaste oil and prevent spilla-ge, as herein explained.

2. The curbed base A B in the described colbination with the detachablereservoir F VIn testimony of which invention I 'hereunto set my hand.

HENRY A. FOX.

Witnesses.

GEO. H. KNIGHT, JABEZ E. PRICE.

